As Congress considers legislation to crack down on bank overdraft fees, the industry is starting to scale back some controversial practices.

Next month, Bank of America (BAC) will stop charging consumers who overdraw by less than $10 a day and will lower the number of times, to four from 10 a day, that consumers can get hit with an overdraft fee. Starting in June, it will no longer automatically pay overdrafts for new customers — and charge $35 — unless they've asked the bank to do so.

Meanwhile, Chase (JPM) said it will start clearing debit card and ATM transactions in the order they occur, rather than by largest dollar amount first, which empties consumers' bank accounts faster.

Chase will also stop approving consumers' debit card transactions — and charging a fee — if they haven't signed up for the service.

The new policy takes effect in the first quarter of 2010.

Both banks say they're trying to help consumers amid rising unemployment and stretched household budgets. "It was time to make this change to help customers," says Brian Moynihan, president of Bank of America's consumer and small-business banking business.

The moves, by the nation's largest banks, come amid growing consumer outcry about the industry's overdraft practices.

The new policies are likely to put pressure on other banks to review their overdraft fees. Richard Hunt, president of the Consumer Bankers Association, a trade group, says that banks are evaluating their policies "every hour of every day" in this downturn because they don't want customers to flee to competitors.

But critics question whether the changes are an attempt to stave off restrictions to a lucrative income stream. Amid the downturn, many banks have gotten more aggressive with overdraft fees. In 2009, financial institutions are expected to reap a record $38.5 billion from overdraft fees, according to Moebs Services, an economic research firm.

"Banks are feeling the heat," says James Sturdevant, a San Francisco attorney who has filed lawsuits against several major banks related to overdrafts. "They are trying to see what the lowest common denominator is that makes it acceptable for them to charge and collect these unconscionable fees."

Michael Moebs, the founder of Moebs Services, says banks' changes are a "positive" development. But he'd like to see banks lower their fees.